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Singing, Creation, Children, and Instrumental Music

Babies, singing, and creation: Why do children love singing? Why do babies love singing even more than instrumental music? Why is singing important in worship? What does this show about creation?

From birth, every child loves to hear singing. Have you ever wondered why?

Our God-Given Ability to Appreciate Vocal Music

An article in a creationist magazine describes a study of MRI scans of the human brain. They determined there is a “unique area of the brain, which appears purpose-built to analyze singing” (not just to analyze sound or even music in general, but specifically vocal music).

“The results showed that ‘the response to sung music was substantially and significantly higher than the sum of the response to speech and instrumental music.’ … Research indicates that it’s a top-down ‘hard-wired’ capability…” given even to infants.*

To paraphrase, all people are born with a God-given ability to recognize, appreciate, and respond favorably to vocal music. From birth, not only can we distinguish singing from speaking and from instrumental music, but we give a “significantly higher” response to vocal music than to speech or to instrumental music.

Some Applications

This explains the reaction of babies and children to vocal music.

Why do parents sing lullabies to lull babies to sleep? When babies and small children are upset, why does singing help calm them down? Why do many little children go around singing much of the day? Why is it that the part of our worship that interests children most is the singing?

The answer is that God created them that way. They are “hardwired” so singing holds their interest more effectively than talking to them or playing instrumental music!

The New Testament instructs vocal music in worship.

Ephesians 5:19 – Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Colossians 3:16 – … teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

We do speak the word of God in worship, but the only music that the New Testament authorizes is singing. Why did God include singing but not instrumental music?

We should obey God’s commands regardless of whether we understand why He gave them, but sometimes information helps us understand why. And one reason God may have chosen singing in worship is that He hardwired every one of us to focus on vocal music even above instrumental music.

Our special appreciation for singing is often used for evil.

2 Corinthians 11:14,15 – For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness…

Anything good that God ever made, Satan seeks ways to pervert it for evil. Much modern music promotes evil by using the human tendency to appreciate singing.

God’s people must use discretion to “Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9).

We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

Birds can sing, but they do not write new songs. Of all God’s creatures, only humans invent new songs, teach them to others, and communicate them in writing. Only people have this ability formed in us from creation so we can appreciate the music that only humans can make.

We did not evolve from lower animals as some teach. We were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26,27).

*https://www.icr.org/article/13745/?utm_source=phplist10302&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=November%2FDecember+Acts+%26+Facts+Is+Now+Available (11/5/2022)

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